False Dawn
by Kyrean Nightblood
Summary: Max rescues a group of four, a new flock, three of them older and more experienced than her flock. Now, they have to stay on the run from their enemies, find out about their past, and maybe help save the world.
1. Freedom

A sudden clang jerked me awake. I looked around. Lucy was awake and crying, but the others were asleep. "C'mere, Lucy." She huddled to the bars of her cage, and I reached through and rubbed her golden-yellow wings and hair. She snuffled and wiped her nose. Her dark blue eyes were filled with tears. She really was such a baby at times, but she really didn't look it most of the time. I mean, seriously, no 9-year-old has muscles like her, nor are they that slim.

"Shush, Lucy, what's the matter?" I rubbed between her wing joints, and she relaxed a bit.

"I saw another one like us," she snuffled.

"Older, or younger than me." I could have said us, because me and the others are all about the same age, hovering around 16, 17 years. Lucy is the exception

"Younger. She had brownish wings, and was freeing some others."

My heart nearly stopped, I was so shocked. Really? That girl was a legend. "Max," I breathed, then rose into a crouch and screamed, "Max! Hey, Maximum Ride!"

The others were awake now, and Ryder was the first one to say something. He stretched his dark wings, then reached out and tapped my black ones. "Night, what is going on?" His brown eyes were quizzical, and he was already running fingers through his dark brown hair. I swear, that kid is so narcissistic.

"Yeah, what is going on?" That was Aeon, staring at me with wide eyes, black eyes with a hint of predatory violet. Between the four of us, me and her were the only two that looked even remotely alike. Actually, more than remotely. We both had angled faces, blackish/violet eyes, black wings, though hers were more brown/black than blue/black, and black hair.

"Max is here," I whispered.

Those three words sent them into a full-out frenzy, screaming and hollering and yelping. The noise stopped abruptly when a figure, tall, slim, and muscular, knelt before my cage and started tinkering with the lock. She opened the cage, then moved on to the others. I stood to my full height, and stretched my wings. It felt _so _good. We had only ever, in our entire lives, been allowed to fly once.

Soon the rest were out of the cage, and Max paced before us. "Okay, you really have to run. Do you guys know how to fly?" We all nodded. "How to fight?" Another nod. "Do you have powers?"

We all started chiming out our powers. I had telekinesis, Aeon had telepathy, Ryder could control electricity, and Lucy, little Lucy, had pyrokinesis.

Max nodded slowly. "And now, the all important question. You know what to keep away from, right?"

"Erasers," I hissed. Her eyes darted to me, and I could see her mind working, figuring out that I was leader.

"Alright," she said. She led us to a door, then opened it and pushed us through, into the clear, cold air. Pure bliss was the wind on our wings. She flashed us a smirk as an alarm went off.

"Time to fly."

**Authors Note: I will post the second chapter once I know what people think of the first, so post reviews if you like this and want the stroy to continue.**


	2. Bloody Dawn

**Two weeks later.**

Have you ever seen the sunrise from the middle of Manhattan? No, well, I guess you haven't. One of the only ways to see over the skyline is to fly, which is a very rare characteristic in the race of humans. Even if we aren't exactly human.

Here's what it's like: Even before the sun comes over the horizon, it shines off a bit of light. In the city, sometimes pollution and smog catches this, refracts it, and intensifies it. That small light from a rising sun gives birth to something else. A mirage. A false dawn.

The even stranger thing is, this happens at night, about an hour before the true dawn. It's extremely rare, but for some reason I got to see it. I guess the divine being was giving the mutant a taste of true freedom, breaking away from the norm.

But in a way, it felt mocking. My life had many a false dawns. Like when I escaped the School the first time, I got shot down with a bullet to my wing, then beaten. I still have the scars. This was like the true dawn. But that a false dawn on a true dawn would occur is really mocking.

I barely beat my wings, watching the false dawn. I hated this, when memories took over. What was it the whitecoats said? Oh yeah. _Watch out. It's dangerous. Unstable. Its biggest flaw. Don't provoke it, unless you want your arms ripped out. _Years of experiments, and they decided my mind had broke. Well, _duh._ Still, I knew it, and the flock did, too. I was a little insane.

The tears came, and I tilted my wings, streaking across the sky as I poured on the speed. The wind bit my face, numbing it, chilling until my body tingled, felt deadened.

I didn't care.

I preferred it that way.

* * *

A bit later, I landed down on the lip of the building the Flock and I lived in. It was grungy and old, but someplace to live.

The others, minus Ryder, were in the kitchen, stuffing themselves on bread and milk. We had to buy a lot to keep our energy up. I reached into the cabinet and pulled out a bag full of bread, and started stuffing it into my mouth, washing it down with milk.

"Morning, Night," Aeon grinned. "Boy, that's an oxymoron."

I shot her a glare, and managed to choke down the wad of bread in my mouth. "Yeah, and thanks for flaunting your knowledge."

She was suddenly contrite. "Sorry."

We ate in silence for a while, before Ryder came in, his usual snide self. "Hello, ladies. So, who made me breakfast?"

I threw a carton of milk at him, which he snatched out of the air. His smile faded. He knew not to mess with me in this mood. They all did.

I paced to the door, then froze, gasping. "Erasers, coming this way."

Aeon swore like a drunkard, while Ryder just kept saying shit over and over.

"C'mon, let's fly!"

We rose into the air, our wings working hard, as the swarms of Erasers came over the horizon. Then total chaos ensued.

I could see Lucy blasting fire at any of the Erasers that got too close. Me, I preferred the old-fashioned version of battle. Street fighting. Gotta love it.

The first Eraser that came at me reached to punch my face. I tucked in my wings, and flung my head back, letting momentum carry me into a back flip. I snapped out my feet, and hit his chin so hard his head snapped back with a sickening _snap. _He went down, tumbling until he splattered on the ground.

_Ha. Flock splatter art._

I lunged, killing any that got in my path. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Aeon taking out their wings, and Ryder was stuck fighting an Eraser. He didn't look so good.

Another one came at me, and I felt a claw dig deep into my arm, tearing a gash into the already scarred flesh. I swore, and the Eraser bared yellowish teeth at me. "Watch your mouth." I hissed at him, zipped up, and caught his wing. As I moved, I clenched down on it. Hard. Pulling it behind his back, I felt bone snap, and he fell, going splat like his friends.

The other Erasers went flying away. The flock landed, and I saw that Aeon was helping support Ryder, who looked barely conscious. I reached for my backpack, pulling out the first-aid kit. "Everyone, fix yourselves up. Lucy, get Ryder to wake up, fix him up, and fly to our meeting place with him." Our meeting place was a clump of trees in Central Park.

She nodded and took Ryder into the living room, where she could take off from the balcony. I turned and jammed a rag under the sink, wetting it then using it to wipe up the blood on my arm. The cut was deep. I winced as I tied gauze around the wound.

"Uh, Night." I could tell from Aeon's voice that something was wrong. She was frozen at the window. "I think the splat-bodies of Erasers have drawn a crowd."

I rushed over to the window, and stared down at the crowd below.

That was when I heard the sirens.

Ah, shit.

**Authors Note: Oooooooo, action! Same policy, reviews will get the next chapter posted, once I have time to write it.  
**


	3. Run

Like I said, shit.

Lucy had taken off, helping Ryder along, but Aeon and I stayed in the room. She had that strange, unfocused look that came when she used telepathy, and I just closed my eyes and listened closely. Damnit. The door was closed off, but there were two people coming up the stairs. Ah, crap. Detectives.

Aeon still had that dreamy look, and when she spoke, her words were slurred. "Night, they think we're murderers. They're coming to get us."

"Nevermind that, c'mon, lets RUN!"

Another pause. Then she shook her head, blinking out of the trance. "One of them is wondering how we expect to run with the door sealed off."

I just grabbed her wrist, yanking her to the stairwell and pelting up, to the roof. She followed me at a run. It sounded like a derailed train was after me. Maybe it was just her panic.

I jerked open the door, ushered Aeon through, then ran onto the roof and slammed the door behind. We both panted for a moment, before Aeon's eyes unfocused again.

"Fine, Aeon, do your mind reading thing, just do it from the air." We both took off, our huge black wings beating in unison as we hovered a few yards off the lip of the building.

When the door burst open, I was so nervy I jumped in midair, and I promise, it is possible. Two men, detectives, according to Aeon, stood there, mouths gaping open as they saw that those they were chasing were hovering in the air, wings outstretched.

Over my pounding heart and ragged breath, I could hear one of them exclaim, "Dear God, they're just kids, and they… have wings."

I fought the insane urge to laugh.

"I think we should land, Night. They just wanna talk to us." This was Aeon, and I watched in mingled horror and disbelief as she landed, staring warily at the two detectives who were staring at us. I followed her lead, and landed, mirroring her wary glare. "What do you want?"

They gaped stupidly for a few more seconds before one of them finally composed himself enough to speak. "Erm… did you kill those… things?"

My tone was a challenge. "So what if we did?"

The other one finally composed himself enough to do something other than stand there looking stupid. "And… you have… wings?"

"No duh. What, are you blind, deaf, and dumb?" I unfolded my wings, holding them crooked at my side as if I was going into a dive.

They stared at my wings, and the one who had spoken first stuttered, "And, you killed… those… whatever those things are?"

I growled, a deep sound in the back of my throat, repeating myself. "So what if we did?"

They exchanged glances. "If you did, then we have to bring you in to be interrogated."

"Hell, no! Besides, isn't killing excused if it's for self defense?"

"So you admit?"

"Did I say that?" God, I love talking back to grownups. "Go away."

They still stared at me and Aeon dopily. Finally: "What are your names, kids?"

I gave Aeon a warning glance. No need. She was a smart girl for someone who never got a formal education.

"I'm Lily, and this is…"

"Sekhmet." Best I could think of. Egyptian goddess of fighting and chaos, at which I excelled.

Of course, we didn't give our flock names, or even our real names (incase any of you are wondering, I'm Kyra, Aeon is Amy, Ryder is David, and Lucy is… well, Lucy). We aren't that stupid.

"Okay, kids, well, we have to bring you in."

"No."

They stared at me, clearly trying to intimidate me. I stared coolly back. I can hold my own against any adult, in any staring contest. Or fight, for that matter. I'm strong for my age. They finally backed down.

"At least get some medical attention."

_Yeah, because they think your arms look like mincemeat and I look like I've been run over. _Aeon intruded in my mind, which I had learned to expect but not to like. I had also learned to deflect it. I flicked away her thoughts, curtly thinking, _Nice image, Aeon._

"Haven't we been over this before? No."

They glanced at my wings. "If you think it's because I don't want to be seen, you guessed correctly. Now go."

They didn't budge.

In the slightest whisper possible, I communicated to Aeon, _"On three. One…. Two…. _THREE!"

We both leapt straight up at my last, shouted word, tossing open our wings and streaking away across the early morning sky.

_Next stop, Lucy and Ryder. Let's hope he's still alive_

**(A/N: Same drill, R&R, or no additions. It's only fair.)**


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